Monroe girl mourned after freak accident

By Susan Silvers, STAFF WRITER

Published 7:11 pm, Monday, August 31, 2009

MONROE -- She loved the outdoors. And dressing up. Her family. And friends.

The death of 8-year-old Susan Kelly Kimball after a fall Monday evening from what was described as a zip-line swing left a hole that was felt in her Fan Hill Road home and well beyond Wednesday as her family and the community tried to cope with something so tragically incomprehensible.

The Office of the Chief State Medical Examiner, based on an autopsy, confirmed the cause of death was blunt head trauma. The girl's death was ruled accidental.

But that finding hardly softened Susan's loss among those who cherished the vivacious youngster.

The girl's aunt, also named Susan, could not contain her tears as she recalled her niece, the daughter of her brother John, president of the Kimball Group, a development business, and his wife, Jill.

"She was so full of life and such a happy kid," said Susan Kimball, of Yarmouth, Maine.

Young Susan always liked to dress up, accumulating a collection of tiaras. "When she was littler, she had a whole trunk of princess outfits," her aunt said, laughing slightly at the recollection.

"She still loved to shop with her mom," she added.

The girl, soon to be a fourth-grader at Fawn Hollow School, also loved the outdoors -- activities like swimming, skiing and snowmobiling -- and hanging out with friends.

And she had ambitious goals for the future. Her aunt reported she was miffed when Hillary Rodham Clinton ran for president last year, thereby possibly depriving young Susan of a chance to be the first female commander-in-chief. She also thought about joining her father's development company, so much so that they had business cards printed for her that read, "president in training."

Details of the accident that befell the youngster remained unclear Wednesday as Monroe police, who oversaw investigation of the incident for the medical examiner, did not respond to phone calls.

Assistant Supt. of Schools Richard Canfield said Fawn Hollow School would have to cope with Susan's loss on behalf of students and staff for some time. He noted that many families are vacationing out of town, and are not likely to return until just before school resumes. The children, he said, would have different reactions to the news of Susan's death.

For those who are in town, the school is offering one-on-one counseling as needed with all district psychologists and guidance counselors on hand next at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

"Some parents wanted to have the time and space to talk to their own children first," he said.

Meanwhile, the girl's family and close friends prepared for a wake to be held Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Abriola Parkview Funeral Home, 419 White Plains Road, Trumbull.

The funeral is scheduled at noon Saturday in St. Jude Church, 707 Monroe Turnpike, with private family burial to follow.

Susan would have turned 9 on Sept. 6, a day that now will be marked with friends and family planting trees in her memory.

"I know this sounds trite, but she really had the perfect family," said the girl's aunt, Susan Kimball.

The aunt said the loss will be particularly hard on the girl's older brother, Jack.